The Concept of Positive Thinking: Hope The Rise of Tourism Industry from the COVID-19 Pandemic
By : Joses Immanuel Souhoka | Friday, July 03 2020 - 16:40 IWST
Joses Immanuel Souhoka - Mahasiswa President University
INDUSTRY.co.id - The Covid-19 virus case is a case that has a huge impact on the world, especially the country in the Asian region such as Indonesia. The impact is very having an impact on the industry in Indonesia. The very affected industry is the tourism industry. The increasing cases of the COVID-19 virus have made several countries adopt social distancing policies and even lockdown. The policy is to reduce community close contact interactions by closing public facilities such as shopping malls, amusement parks, students studying at home, and work from home (WFH) which the government calls for private employees or civil servants (PNS), Closing aviation, tourist attractions, etc. This is certainly a factor that is very impact in the tourism industry.
During the COVID-19 pandemic period, local and foreign tourists visiting Indonesia experiencing a very significant decline. According to data from the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS), foreign tourists to Indonesia in 2016-2019 continued to increase (in 2016 the number of foreign tourists reached 11,519,275 people, in 2019 reached 16,106,954 people) and in 2020 decreased very significantly (in 2020 that is, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased to 885,067 people.). This makes the community have a negative thinking concept towards the tourism industry.
The concept of positive thinking can generate Indonesia's tourism industry. In terms of government, I consider that the Indonesian government now has a positive thinking concept towards the tourism industry. This evident from the statement of the Presidential Staff Dr. Moeldoko, said "The President estimates that next year there will be a boom in the tourism sector so that the tourism industry and the creative economy must be ready," at a webinar with the theme of Indonesia's Economic Reopening: Peace with Covid-19, Welcoming the New Normal Protocol in the Tourism regions of Indonesia. And based on the 2nd International Tourism Virtual Seminar "Changes of the Tourism Paradigm in The Era of New Normal" on Friday (05/15/2020), the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy said "The tourism industry must continue and enter a new normal era. Tourism businesses must adapt to new conditions and have a business strategy to stay. " The Indonesian government has prepared an important step to revive the tourism industry, namely social protection programs for workers in the tourism sector and the creative economy that is right on target. Second, the budget reallocation of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy directed at labor-intensive programs for workers in the tourism sector and the creative economy. Third, prepare an economic stimulus for businesses in the tourism sector and the creative economy.
Covid-19 pandemic changed people's behavior. According to the Mckinsey survey, 61 percent (%) of the Indonesian people are very concerned with public health. So, based on this survey we can conclude that health and safety factors are very important to be applied to the tourism industry. The application of these factors is how the tourism industry adapts to current conditions. Changes in behavior in the community become a challenge for the tourism industry. The concept of positive thinking is what can make challenges an opportunity to rise. According to Jim Dorhan and John Maxwell (1996), positive thinking can change lives and make us successful in every effort that is pursued. The concept of thinking like this must be able to survive and see opportunities. The strategy that can be applied in the tourism industry is to optimize the digital platform as a marketing media and the application of protocols (health, safety, and awareness). This is very important to restore the tourism industry and awaken tourist confidence.
Reviving the tourism industry requires cooperation between the government and tourism industry players. In my opinion, the concept of positive thinking is very important for both parties in reviving the tourism industry. With the rise of the tourism industry, the economy in a country will turn back because this industry is very directly related to other industries such as the aviation and hospitality industry.
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